Faye pressed her lips together to ward off the protest that immediately rose up. He was right, of course. Going to Castleton and coming back would take a month and a half, at least, mayhap more with the colder weather that would sweep in soon. And that was assuming Kinsey could be found quickly.
Faye knew her sister too well to think she might be easy to locate. After all, Kinsey never did anything without fully committing herself. If she’d joined the war, she would be in deep.
Instead, Faye nodded. “Aye, please do send some men. My mum will need help. As will Clara.”
“I’ll do it straight away,” Ewan promised. “She’ll be safe. Both she and Drake.”
Faye embraced her husband, grateful for his support and his readiness to aid her family. But even as he offered reassurance, she was plagued by doubt. For in the end, what would win out? Kinsey’s love for their brother, or her hatred for the English?
Faye only wished that her sister might settle down with a good man as she had and allow herself to be truly happy. It was times like this, Faye was grateful she had opened up to her husband so that he might know the truth in her heart.
“I promised to protect ye,” Ewan said. “And that extends to yer family as well.”
She closed her eyes as a tear eased down her cheek, for she knew his words to be true. For Ewan Sutherland, the man that she’d married, father to their unborn child, was indeed a man worthy of her trust. And now she had a life where love was not a vulnerability, but a strength, and worth every risk she’d taken.
Thank you for reading FAYE’S SACRIFICE! I read all of my reviews and would love to know that you enjoyed it, so please do leave a review.
Faye’s siblings all have their own stories too:
Kinsey in Kinsey’s Defiance
Clara in Clara’s Vow (info coming soon!)
Drake in Drake’s Honor (info coming soon!)
If you want more stories that take place on the border between England and Scotland, check out my Borderland Ladies series and meet Drake, starting with Marin’s Promise
Check out Kinsey’s story next in KINSEY’S DEFIANCE where Kinsey leaves home to help with the Scottish rebellion against England, an archer for a laird’s son too handsome and charming for his own good.
ONE-CLICK Kinsey’s Defiance Now
***Keep reading for a first chapter preview of KINSEY’S DEFIANCE**
KINSEY’S DEFIANCE
Kinsey Fletcher is a woman who stands up for others who can’t fight, so it’s no wonder she jumps at the chance to be an archer in the war to reclaim Scottish lands alongside the handsome laird’s son.
William MacLeod is a man all women love, one out to prove his worth while also catching the eye of the feisty and fiery Kinsey who pretends to want nothing to do with him.
With tremendous odds against them, can a love blossom and make them stronger together, or will their conflicting goals tear them apart?
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KINSEY’S DEFIANCE
Chapter 1 Preview
July 1341
Castleton, Scotland
Kinsey Fletcher never cared much for market days. They were loud, crowded and filled with Englishmen trying to stir up trouble.
Like the two bleary-eyed sods pointing at them as Kinsey and her older sister, Clara, walked by.
“Ignore them,” Clara said gently. “They mean us no harm.”
“They would if given a chance.” Kinsey narrowed her eyes at the men, who grinned salaciously in return. The arrogant fops.
“Ye can’t go around picking a fight with every man who looks at ye.” Clara led them away from the carpenter’s stall they’d been perusing, and through the crowded streets. “Ye’d never get any rest.”
Kinsey scoffed. “I’m not the only one they’re looking at.” Though sisters, their vastly different appearances went beyond the blue shade of their eyes to their hair, with Clara’s being dark and silky straight while Kinsey’s curls were bright red. Regardless, they both seemed to draw a significant amount of notice.
Not that it was anything Kinsey couldn’t handle. Indeed, it was the exact reason she insisted on wearing her bow and a quiver of arrows to the market.
“Come, we’re nearly done.” Clara took the basket from Kinsey and examined the contents. They needed only a few nails and a bit of wool, and then they could finally return to their stone manor on the outskirts of the village.
Some English lived in the village as well, given that they lived so close to the English-Scottish border, where the two nationalities had a tendency to blend. How could they not when the lands were stolen by either country, then taken back, only to be stolen again?
But reivers often spilled over from England in greater numbers on market days. Some seeking items from the traveling merchants; others in retaliation for some raid against them, which had been a retaliation for another prior raid. On and on it went.
One day, someone would need to put a stop to it. And Kinsey wouldn’t mind taking a stab at trying.
Regardless, they all somehow wound up at the tavern with too much ale sloshing about in their heads and a keen determination to woo whatever lass they came upon.
Kinsey and her sister stopped at the blacksmith’s booth, where Clara bent to inspect a small bin of nails.
“They’re all straight, miss.” The blacksmith folded his arms over his broad chest. His gaze wandered appreciatively over Clara’s slender pale hand, then up her arm to her face.
“Ye always do fine workmanship, I know,” Clara offered by way of reassurance. She lifted her focus to him, then her cheeks colored with a blush as she apparently noted his attention.
Kinsey shifted from one foot to the other in agitation. This was why they were always getting into trouble during market days. Clara was the type who wouldn’t ignore anyone speaking to her. Not the vendors, who she politely declined when she passed, nor the men
